THE US-based International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) has hired an attorney to investigate allegations that former doubles champion Bob Hewitt sexually abused girls he coached.
The inquiry could result in his expulsion or suspension from the hall.
In addition to the inquiry, a rape investigation opened in December is still under way. The criminal case was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng last month for a decision on whether to criminally charge Hewitt, now 72.
The ITHF, which earlier abandoned plans to investigate the allegations, had hired a law firm for the probe, chief executive Mark Stenning said this week.
He said the ITHF became aware of the allegations of abuse and harassment of Hewitt’s former female students in the US and South Africa after they emerged in a report in The Boston Globe last year.
